VNV recognizes that sustainability work and the observance of good environment, social and governance practice (“ESG”) is essential if companies are to be run in the owners’ best interests over the long term. As an active investor, our ESG work is focused on encouraging such practices to be implemented and managed at all our portfolio companies in order to protect shareholder value and enhance long-term returns.

In addition to Vostok New Ventures own ESG work, our portfolio companies also have this important topic on their agendas. Below are a few examples of the sustainability work done by our larger holdings.

BlaBlaCar

BlaBlaCar has published the report Zero Empty Seats, a global study into the environmental impact of carpooling. The report, conducted with French research institute, Le BIPE, is the first study based on real usage data from BlaBlaCar’s community of 70 million carpoolers.
1.6 million tonnes of CO2 were saved by BlaBlaCar carpolers during 2018.
See the full report here.

Babylon

Universal healthcare is a topic very central at Babylon. Their mission is to provide an accessible and affordable health service to every person on Earth. They have hundreds of the best medical and technical professionals, working hard to hack the healthcare challenges of our time and keep people healthy all around the world.
See a few highlights on how Babylon is helping to improve access to healthcare in one of the poorest, and one of the richest, countries on Earth here.

Voi

Voi’s mission is to provide sustainable and inclusive last-mile mobility solutions, which enable people to move freely in cities. They are creating networks of electric vehicles around urban centers to provide an affordable, sustainable, and exhilarating way to travel. By working closely with public transport operators they aim to galvanise change in the way people travel and pioneer a shift away from cars towards shared electric mobility.
See Voi’s full Sustainability Statement here.

Gett

Gett’s mission is to make cities move better and become more sustainable.

Gett connects both businesses and individuals with external fleets, some of which ​are ​100% ‘green​’ and others with between 75%-85% of their fleet consisting made up of ​hybrid vehicles​.

In one of Gett’s core markets, London, their Black Taxi supply includes a rapidly increasing number of the all-new zero emissions capable (ZEC) ‘TXE’ model. They actively incentivise drivers of these vehicles to join the Gett platform.

Where emissions can’t be reduced, Gett will make its best efforts to offset them through a number of initiatives:

The purchase of carbon credits

Donations to improve air quality in the Gett app

The option to choose electric or low emission vehicles. The option to choose electric or low emission vehicles. The option to choose electric or low emission vehicles. The option to choose electric or low emission vehicles. The option to choose electric or low emission vehicles. The option to choose electric or low emission vehicles. The option to choose electric or low emission vehicles.